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Sunday, 9 April 2017

The 13th Nissan (today) is the
Yahrtzeit of one of the key pillars of the entire Jewish nation - Rabbi Yosef
Karo (1488-1575). Born in Spain - fleeing with his family at the age of 4 due to the
Spanish Expulsion - Rabbi Yosef Karo would go on to become one of the
outstanding giants in Torah, producing a complete commentary on the Rambam's
Halachic work - the Yad Hachazakah - which he called the Kesef Mishnah,
thereafter doing a complete commentary on the four sections of Halachah (Jewish
law) of the Tur (Rabbi Yaakov ben HaRosh - Rabbi Asher) entitled the Beis
Yosef, and thereafter compiling all his encyclopaedic knowledge of every single
area of Halachah - into his main work called the Shulchan Aruch (the Laid
Table) - because indeed, he lays out the laws much like a table is laid out
with everything in its place!

A point that many do not know is
that Rabbi Karo was also a kabbalist of the highest order - living at the same
time as the great Arizal (who was 46 years his junior!) in Safed. The Golden
Age of Safed!

Rabbi Karo had a Maggid (an
angel) teach him Torah as he drifted off into Innerspace while reciting various
Mishnayot. It was in fact the Mishnah itself that would speak to him - teaching
him the secrets of Torah. However, be that as it may - he was not on the level
of the Arizal in terms of his knowledge of Kabbalah and had in fact asked the
Ari to teach him.

The Ari (being privy to the
secrets of souls and other mysterious things of life and Creation, knew well
that the soul of Rabbi Yosef Karo was not suitable for those deepest of
secrets. He told him so, but Rabbi Yosef refused to listen - imploring the Ari
to teach him anyway!

The Ari told him that he should
sit under a particular tree at a particular point in time... If he should see
the Ari walking by him then, it was a sign he could learn the secrets, and the
Ari would be prepared to teach him. The day arrived, and Rabbi Yosef did as the
Ari instructed, but moments before the Ari walked by, he fell into a deep sleep
- waking up only a few minutes later after the Ari had already passed!

In fact, Rabbi Yosef became an
in-law to the Ari with their children marrying each other. (For those wondering
about their difference in age, Rabbi Yosef Karo married three times in his life
and fathered a child when much older - who married the Ari's son/daughter (I
forget whose son married whose daughter!)

Many of the Ari's descendants
are known today, but I am not sure who the descendants are of Rabbi Yosef Karo.

You can find out more about this
great man and his works by seeing the Wikipedia:

Rabbi Yosef Karo's contribution
was so invaluable to the Jewish people that it is practically impossible to
speak about Jewish law today without mentioning the Shulchan Aruch! It is
studied every single day by almost all observant Jews (or those who value the
importance of Jewish law - any way!)

In order to obtain Rabbinical
Ordination, one must be knowledgeable in a variety of areas in the Shulchan
Aruch - as well as one knows the back of one's palms! This excludes the need to
know the major commentaries that accompany the essential text of the Shulchan
Aruch (and of course all the material that actually precedes the coding of the
law as detailed in the SA.) In particular, the rabbinical student must learn
the laws of Kashrut - the laws of forbidden mixtures, salting meat in order to
Kasher it as well as the laws of the forbidden mixture of meat and milk.

Those furthering their studies will
also learn the important areas of the SA including the laws of Shabbat,
Mikvaot, Niddah, Shaatnez, immersing vessels in a Mikvah, the laws of interest
(charging interest to a Jew is forbidden by another Jew,) laws of daily life,
Eiruvin, mourning, laws of Pesach and dozens of other topics afterwards.

One who is a master of the
entire Shulchan Aruch can truly call himself a Rabbi in every sense of the word - but
sadly, there are not many who reach this goal in its entirety due to the
enormous amount of material to learn... and hence why many spend their entire
days devoted to learning Torah - day and night - night and day.

This - of course, excludes the
time invested in learning the Arizal's works, the Zohar and all the material
associated with the hidden Torah.

The Torah of Hashem is perfect,
restoring the soul. The testimonies of Hashem (G-d) are faithful, making the
simple wise. (Psalms 19:7)

If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book - "Maggid Mesharim" (English translation) which includes the teachings that the angel taught Rabbi Yosef Karo, contact Reb Eliyahu today - for all your Torah book needs!

Reb Eliyahu

The Author of This Blog

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All articles, stories, photographs and artwork are copyrighted and may not be used by anyone without permission from Eliyahu Shear. Due to other sites having used some of my images illegally, I have been forced to remove many of the images on my site. Unfortunately many posts will now lack images.

Note: Images and clipart are for illustration purposes only and may not always depict the exactness (nor absolute truth according to all Torah opinions) of the blog article.